Lotus founder Colin Chapman dies at age 54

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman, who founded Lotus, the small British engineering company that built small, nimble cars, died of a heart attack on Dec. 16, 1982, at age 54.

Chapman studied structural engineering at University College in London, graduating in 1949. He also served in the Royal Air Force.

Chapman built his first race car in 1948, which would be known as the Mark 1 Lotus.

The company was founded in 1948, followed by the creation of Lotus Engineering in 1952.

Lotus’ first series production car was the Mark 6, with over 100 made.

In 1954, Team Lotus was created and saw racing success with the Mark 8.

The company and Chapman continued to focus on advancing the race car and reached the pinnacle of racing, Formula 1, in 1958.

Chapman’s name lives on with the cars today. Quite literally, in fact.

On the company’s logo, above the word “Lotus,” are Chapman’s initials -- A, C, B and C.

One of Chapman’s mottoes was, “Simplify, then add lightness.”

The automaker has stayed true to those words.

The company’s newest model -- the Exige Sport 350 -- is powered by a 3.5-liter, supercharged, V-6 engine that produces 345 hp. Weighing in at 2,480 pounds, the Exige Sport 350 can hit 60 mph in 3.7 seconds.

“Light weight is the most important aspect of our heritage, and future Lotus cars will follow the direction of our most recently launched models, the Evora 400, Elise Sport and, of course, our latest Exige Sport 350, all of which are both lighter and faster than their predecessors,” said Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus.

The Exige Sport 350 goes on sale in February, but it will not be sold in the U.S.

The 2015 Evora was not sold in the U.S. because it did not meet U.S. safety regulations requiring smart airbags, which detect when a passenger is buckled in.

Lotus received an exemption from the safety rule by federal officials, but it expired after the 2014 model year.

Lotus officials told Automotive News in June that the company will launch a fully compliant Evora coupe at year end.

Reportedly, the newest Evora will be a “lighter, faster” version of the Evora 400.

In August, Automotive News reported that the Elise sports car will be reintroduced in the U.S. after the company introduces the next-generation car in 2020.

Sales were stopped in 2011 after exemptions from certain safety regulations expired.

Lotus recently moved its U.S. headquarters from Lawrenceville, Ga., to Ann Arbor, Mich., where Lotus Engineering Inc. already operates.

The automaker’s U.S. sales peaked in 2007 at an estimated 2,604 cars, mainly the entry-level, Elise two-seater.

In 1999, Automotive News Europe named Chapman the 61st most influential person of the millennium in the European auto industry.